LEED for Homes Winners are as Affordable as They are Green

As we take a look at the winners of the USGBC LEED for Homes Awards for 2010 (announced at <a href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=greenbuild+2010">Greenbuild 2010</a>), we are starting to see a bit of a theme. Low energy and healthy materials are among some of the themes that the winning projects excelled at, but above all, it was their ability to remain affordable while exhibiting a very high level of performance that really made the mark. Case in point is the <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8524">Project of the Year</a> winner, the admirable <a href="http://inhabitat.com/mission-possible-leed-certified-homes-for-100k/">LEED Platinum 100K House</a>. But it was not alone as affordable green homes received recognition across the board, including an ambitious project by General Colin Powell who gave the keynote address at the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/greenbuild-2010-kicks-off-next-week-in-chicago/">GreenBuild Conference</a> in November. Read on for more details on these innovative award winners.

The now famous <a href="http://inhabitat.com/mission-possible-leed-certified-homes-for-100k/">100K House</a> in Philadelphia is all about maximizing efficiency and design while squeezing the most out of a small budget. The efforts of developer  <a href="http://www.postgreen.com/" target="new">Postgreen</a> and designer <a href="http://www.is-architects.com/">Interface Studio Architects</a> was rewarded with the 2010 LEED Homes <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8524">Project of the Year</a>. Comming in at less than $100 per square foot in construction cost they not only achieved LEED Platinum status, but helped revitalize the Philadelphia neighborhood of East Kensington, and at the same time set the bar for amazing urban revitalization in the US. Read more on <a href="http://inhabitat.com/mission-possible-leed-certified-homes-for-100k/">our previous coverage</a> of the 100k House.

<a href="http://www.shfh.org/">Habitat for Humanity of Sacramento</a> received recognition with the <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8527">Outstanding Program Commitment Award</a> for producing high quality LEED Gold Homes. As you know Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to providing low-income housing for families in need, and they are now one of the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/home-depot-and-habitat-for-humanity-to-build-5000-green-homes/">leading developers</a> of green homes. The winning project was built and tested to use 60% less energy than a house of comparable size.

Southwest builder <a href="http://www.artistichomes.com/">Artistic Homes</a> took off with the <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8528">Production Builders Award</a> for a LEED Platinum home constructed in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not only is the house <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/german-zero-energy-house-generates-enough-juice-to-charge-your-ev/">net zero energy</a>, it is also is on the market for less than $300k, which for the Santa Fe market is a pretty good deal.

Architect <a href="http://web.me.com/jdc001/JDCArchitect/welcome.html">Jay DeChesere</a> got the nod for his LEED Platinum point buster Talon House which got the <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8526">Best Single Family Project</a> for 2010. The home is a retrofit that improved efficiency by 70% and incorporated great features like ground source heat pumps, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/solar-power/">renewable energy</a>, solar thermal, recycled, rapidly renewable and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/recycled-materials/">salvaged materials</a>, a green roof, rainwater harvesting, pervious pavement and efficient lighting. The project is a living lab and available to builders and designers to learn about the latest innovations in green building.

The <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8522">Multi Family Project</a> of the year is the LEED Platinum <a href="http://inhabitat.com/eco-student-village-fit-for-a-naturopathic-university/">Bastyr University Student Housing</a> by architects  <a href="http://www.collinswoerman.com/architecture/bastyrstudenthousing.aspx" target="_blank">CollinsWoerman</a>. Located in Kenmore, Washington, the eco village grabbed attention for exceeding its target of LEED Gold by incorporating a myriad of design strategies and technologies, but still coming in under budget and ahead of schedule. Read all about it in <a href="http://inhabitat.com/eco-student-village-fit-for-a-naturopathic-university/">our previous coverage</a> of this inspired and inspiring project.

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/greenbuild-2010-the-best-eco-designs-from-day-1/">General Colin Powell</a> took charge with his keynote at the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=greenbuild+2010">GreenBuild Conference</a> this year, which was inspired by his success in developing a large apartment building that not only achieved LEED Platinum, but is available for low income families. The Bronx project earned <a href="http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8525">Outstanding Affordable Housing Project</a> for its quality of green building and the projects commitment of providing for the community. The project exemplifies that leadership in green building is more than just saving energy and resources, but making green building accessible to all of the population.